Tag: movie-fun-facts

Say what you want about life imitating art, but you really can’t argue with the fact that art imitates itself every now and again. Just ask the creators over at Pixar. You’ve probably seen most of their movies, but did you know that some of their most popular films pay homage to the greats of cinema past?

Movies like Toy Story,Up, and The Incredibles are filled to the brim with references to some of the most beloved films of all time.

The parallels might not be obvious at first, but looking at the productions with a discerning eye reveals the level of influence that these revered blockbusters have had on Pixar’s greatest hits over the years.

After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

To see more of these parallels in action, check this out:

Pretty amazing, right? It’s easy to watch Pixar movies with idle, cartoon-loving eyes, but the next time they roll out another classic, be on the lookout for allusions to your favorite cinematic standbys.

Even though you might not be able to picture a frozen hellscape in which Harry Potter is not played by Daniel Radcliffe, the fact of that matter is that someone else almost did.

In fact, the same is true for plenty of popular movie and TV characters. What would “Pretty Woman” be without Julia Roberts? Who else could even legally play Han Solo other than Harrison Ford? These are the hard-hitting questions, friends, and I’m here to give you some answers.

Here are 25 beloved characters that were almost played by other actors.

1. Britney Spears was considered for the role of Allie Calhoun in “The Notebook.” Rachel McAdams got the gig instead.

6. Human-shaped dumpster fire Nicolas Cage almost snagged the role of John Bender in “The Breakfast Club.” Fortunately for all of humankind, he didn’t.

7. Instead of the late, great Alan Rickman, casting directors for the Harry Potter franchise almost went with Tim Roth (who for all I know could be a great actor but is also not Alan Rickman) to play Severus Snape.

16. We all loved watching Maya Rudolph play Lillian in “Bridesmaids,” but I’m sure Mindy Kaling would’ve been just as funny if she’d been given the role after auditioning.

17. Mars was apparently in retrograde when Al Pacino was considered to play Han Solo. Fortunately, Harrison Ford rolled up and was all like, “Nah, man,” probably.

18. If you need me, I’ll be tracking down the person who almost cast Rob Lowe as Dr. McDreamy, otherwise known as Derek Shepherd, otherwise known as a character that should never be played by Rob Lowe under any circumstances, in “Grey’s Anatomy.”

19. Hugh Grant almost played Professor Gilderoy Lockhart in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” but lost out to Kenneth Branagh in the end.

20. An actor by the name of Thomas Jane fought in what I can only imagine was a slime-ball battle in his own mucus with fellow human slug Jon Hamm for the role of Don Draper in “Mad Men.” Ultimately, Hamm won.

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21. In what would’ve been the cutest swap in history, Harry Potter’s gigantic friend Hagrid was almost played the late Robin Williams instead of Robbie Coltrane, who also happens to be awesome.